And oh goodness me! It’s been soooo long since I’ve updated the contents here on the blog section. Life has been pretty busy as usual on my end here.

Back in 2017, I decided to take a little step back from too much work in order to focus more on my own well-being as well as to be more presence for my family. Health wise wasn’t too good for me either, hence the catalyst to my decision as I needed to lower down my stress level. Haley was going through a phase of getting used to a new school as well as some emotional changes as part of her growing up. It’s important for me to be there for her to help her go through this phase.

Things are looking up for us… business is as usual, but because I’m taking it slower with my shoot & editing schedules, it has gone a little too quiet here.

This year of 2018, I realized it’s coming to 10 years since I’ve embarked into this genre of lifestyle portrait photography business. 10 years ago, husband & I decided it’s about time to start a family. Since my then career was being a scuba instructor, it required me to travel a lot to remote islands which will last for days or even months. I realized it’s time for me to put aside my underwater adventures & teaching career.

I was at a cross road… wondering what else can I do? Do I want to go back to the corporate world? (no… it’s just not something I enjoy doing – dealing with corporate protocols) So what else can I do? Teach piano? I don’t have the certification to teach and with that, I need to go through a course which requires time & money.

“How about photography?” I asked myself. Since I have been covering weddings on a part time basis, and I have a DSLR. But then… I want to do something different… If I want to have a baby AND be there for him/her fulltime, can I afford the time & energy to do wedding photography at the same time?

So I decided to do some research. Soon enough I realized, pregnancy & baby photography is still quite a new genre here in Malaysia. And hey… I LOVE working with children! I’ve been babysitting babies since I was still a student. And I absolutely enjoy teaching children to scuba dive!

Since then, I went on to build my first portfolio covering pregnancy & baby portraits for my friends & some clients who were willing to give me a chance. I found out I was pregnant soon enough, right after photographing a pregnancy portrait for two of my scuba diving friends. The Almighty had His plans all line up for us, and these friends of mine became Haley’s God-Parents & our families grew up closely together. 🙂 Their little girl & Haley are now inseparable whenever they get together.

My very first experience with lifestyle home pregnancy portraiture with Daniel & Sofia. (2008)

Starting a new business while I was heavily pregnant was quite a journey in itself. I remember my 8-month heavily pregnant self doing an engagement portrait shoot with my husband assisting me (cos I couldn’t afford an assistant then yet!), walking up & down stairs, standing dangerously on curbs & rocks just to get the shots I needed. The session went pretty well, but I was totally spent. This was then I decided wedding photography is definitely not something I can handle fully if I were to be a total hands-on mother. I didn’t believe in hiring a domestic helper or to send my baby to a nanny. My mother decided to gradually move to West Malaysia & stay with us so that she can help with Haley while I needed to work. She’s the only person I trust naturally. But I still want to be the sole caretaker of my own child.

And so… the journey was tough but rewarding at the same time. I cried, I got angry, I got depressed, I got totally sick (many times) because I didn’t have time to take care of myself. There was a time when I wanted to quit. But in between all that, I laughed a lot, I made new good friends & strengthen the ties with old ones, I can provide more for my family, debts are slowly paid off, and I grew into a person I am today.

I am not alone in this journey. My husband & my family, my friends (especially my past & current team mates) and my clients (past & current) have been there for me through thick & thin. With that I am thankful & blessed. There is a lot more to learn & adapt into, but for now I just want to celebrate what I’ve accomplished with those who believed & still believe in me.

This year, I’m making new changes for my photography services. In hope that the business can function better and I can be more productive to serve my clients. So today I’m introducing my newly revamped website, as well as a whole new set of photography packages for everyone to consider.

Since it has just been launched, there will still be some small kinks here & there to be rectified by our end. So we will appreciate your kind patience & understanding if you find issue with the contents and browsing features. Please leave a comment below to inform us & we will rectify them very soon.

Thumbs up if you like the new look! 😉

The new layout & design is a lot simpler & cleaner. With more straightforward browsing flow and hopefully easier access to all the information you will need before you decide to include me as a part of your precious memories.

To make the celebration merrier, I’d like to give back to my past & existing clients by giving out a special rate of RM600 for a mini studio portrait session (max 1-hour) at my home-styled studio in Subang Jaya. You will receive 10 edited images and a beautiful 11″x9″ matted print from this session. There will only be 10 (TEN) slots available for this special rate. So HURRY & grab this offer now! 🙂

As for new potential clients, you will receive a 10% discount off the package that you intend to purchase from us. Do browse our package options here. Once again, only 10 (TEN) slots will be available for this discount offer.

Terms & Condition: ~ Offer begins today & will end once all slots are taken (with full payment & signed contract). ~ Offer is only valid for studio portrait session. ~ Newborn session is not applicable for this offer. ~ Photography period is between 1st February 2018 until 30th April 2018. (to set date according to the availability of my shoot schedule) ~ This offer is not valid with other promotions or special offers.

How to secure your special rate/discount? 1. Write to us – fill up the “Booking” form. 2. Under the “Message” column, write “ALP 10th Anniversary Special Offers” and let us know if you are our existing client or a new client. 3. We will reply to you via email as soon as we possibly can & assist with the booking of your slot. 😀

Thank you for making this 10 years of memories with me. I pray for many more years with even more happy memories together with YOU!

Love, Asther

Some of our beautiful memories spent with our clients in our home studio over the past few years.